Wednesday, 3/7/12 - The Monterey

Date: 2/29/12
Restaurant: The Monterey
Location: 1127 S. Alamo
Executive Chef: Quealy Watson


So yes, I'm late to the show. The Monterey, or El Monty as it's affectionately referred to, has been listed by Texas Monthly as one of the Texas restaurants to try in 2012 (see http://www.texasmonthly.com/2012-03-01/feature2.php for the article) and is making a splash in the whimsical, Austin-influenced crowd of young San Antonian foodies. Oh well, that's a bandwagon I'm happy to hop on!

El Monty bills itself as a cool hang-out for "food lovers, beer nerds, and wine geeks." The menu is small, diverse, and open to last-minute additions and changes based on the chef's whim. The food is American heavily influenced by Asian ingredients, and funky organ meats abound! In theory at least.


Why was the photo taken from here? Because it's from El Monty's parking lot! Where you at, downtown? Oh yes, you're right there. And El Monty still has its own parking lot! (I can't emphasize enough how much of a draw this is. Seriously. I happily paid the amount that I DIDN'T have to pay for parking into the waiter's tip.)




This place is so Austin. Observe the kitschy decor and funky bathrooms (men's and women's respectively).


I loved our seating because I got to hear the occasional blurb from the kitchen. Tavis isn't so sure what he's in for.

We arrived in time for "the happiest of happy hours," so I enjoyed a $2.50 bottle of Shiner's new selection, Wild Hare (tasty!). I don't think anything on the food menu was discounted, unfortunately. We listened to the off-menu specials of the day, which included a salmon head (only two of those left!), an okonomiyaki (think Asian savory pancake) made with Chinese sausage and clams which I REALLY wanted to try and sort of wish I had, and a corned Wagyu beef tongue. Which I ended up getting. Which should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me well enough to read this blog!

Our first course was actually my favorite, and it came as quite a surprise because it was brussels sprouts. Unfortunately it was my phone's favorite dish as well, and it ate the photo. Whoops! I ordered the brussels upon reading several rave reviews, and homygoodness were they incredible. Tavis and both gobbled them like there was a secret decoder ring at the bottom of the plate. I would eat these every single day. They were roasted, swimming in a sweet chili oil, sprinkled with peanuts. Sweet, umami, salty, utterly addictive. (And invisible.)


Tavis ordered the pork belly bahn mi, which is a sammich served with various pickled vegetables and spreads. I think one of them was a sriracha mayonnaise and another seemed like some sort of bean spread. I thought it was awesome, very tangy and tasty, with the crispy pork belly all nice and juicy in the inside, but it was not to Tavis's taste.


This is the corned Wagyu tongue, with a mustard-breadcrumbs coating on one side, covered in some awesome pickled veggies (are those beets? Did I enjoy pickled beets?) and swimming in what was probably some of the same yummy sauce as the bahn mi. It tasted like corned beef, just juicy and tender. I might not order this again, but I certainly enjoyed it this time.


Since Tavis didn't really like his bahn mi, he ordered a second dish, which were greek chicken meatballs. The flavors were pretty much identical to any gyro, with the garlicky dill tzatziki and the feta playing nicely together. He still wasn't stoked, and honestly this was a very forgettable dish.

It's been a long time since Tavis just hasn't had a meal he enjoyed; I maintain that the bahn mi was simply not to his taste. (For reference, he is a man who wants his sammiches as follows: bread, meat, cheese, bread. Yeah. I married that.) There were a couple other items on the menu that sounded interesting to him, but with a strong Asian influence comes sour and spicy, two flavors that just don't really agree with him. So this may just not be his sort of place.

I digress. Here's some dessert.



It was an espresso "panna cotta," the quotations because it was crunchy as much as creamy. I really think it was filled with Grape Nuts. If you've ever eaten them, you know their rather unique crumbly texture. This was tasty even though I'm not a huge coffee fan, but still pretty forgettable.

Overall: I wanted to like this place more! It's adorable, the service was friendly, I love the concept and the quality of the ingredients and the versatility/playfulness of the menu items. I think I would come back here again, but probably with different company. (Blasphemy!) Either that, or order 10 plates of those tasty sprouts (the ones that they call Brussels). I'll definitely give El Monty another try, and I think you should too.

Wednesday, 2/29/12 - Feast

Date: 2/29/12
Restaurant: Feast
Location: 1024 South Alamo St (King William district)
Executive Chef: Stefan Bowers

Hi kids! Didja miss me? I missed you. I haven't missed many meals, but they have come and gone unphotographed and unremarked, so you're going to have to take my word for it. Regardless, a new year, a new batch of eateries, and the same willing cohort/accomplice/sidekick/flunky/husband!

Today's delicious entry is brought to you by a word that doesn't exist in the English language. It is a Georgian word (the country, not the state, if that needed clarification) and the word is "shemomedjamo." It means "to eat past the point of being full just because the food tastes good," and it very well be the most succinct summary of my life. Well, at least my life last night.

Feast is "new American with a Mediterranean flair," if you are to believe their website. (Believe it.) It's also hip, food-forward, and in the ultra-trendy King William district about two blocks away from the Overtime Theater and Blue Star Brewery and all that First Friday artsy musicky goodness. Parking is free along the adjacent neighborhood streets and that's fine by me! A lovely evening stroll is just the thing to whet an appetite. Or burn off a fraction of the too many calories consumed.


Welcome to Feast!


Everything was very hip and modern and transparent, which I guess is "in." Fortunately (somewhat; they were all very attractive!) the waitstaff didn't carry the motif to their clothing. The bar was also transparent...but with neon! That's called "layers." (It probably isn't.)

Anyway, the menu for Feast is artistic in its own right. It is broken up into categories: Hot, Chilled, Grilled, Crispy, Melted and Mains. Basically everything but Mains are small plates, tapas-style, meant to be shared or hoarded as you like. I went in with the very modest expectation of selecting three things, encouraging Tavis to select three things that I also wanted to get and making him share them with me. IT WAS SO HARD. I might have been able to select three things I DIDN'T want!

Alas, stomach space is limited and I wanted an excuse to come back, so we found six items and stuck with them. Aaaaaaaaaand may I remind you of the word of the day, shemomedjamo! You'll understand why soon enough.


Delicious, delicious little pork cheek street tacos on masa tortillas. I think it was cotija cheese on top, and a little bit of red onion and (blech) cilantro. These were so sweet and succulent. What a way to start the meal.


Slightly hard to see through the foliage, 7 spice barbacoa tacos with a garlic yogurt sauce, more red onion, (blech) cilantro, and a slice of jalapeno. Even with the jalapeno set off to the side, these packed some heat. Too much for the Tavis, so I downed the rest and grinned through my sweat. Another beautiful and juicy offering, plus these were discounted for happy hour! Score!


Tavis picked the quail, served atop braised kale (hehehe quail and kale) in an oxtail broth. The quail is REALLY pepper-crusted, and on a bird with not that much meat, it was a little disconcerting. I just didn't find the harmony in this dish. But the greens drenched in broth were really tasty.


MAC AND CHEESE. This was done so well. Simple, no unusual cheese, but pasta was cooked perfectly, the bechamel was rich and decadent, the garlicky bread crumb topping was the perfect crispy counterbalance, and....I feel like I'm forgetting something....


Oh yeah. The ridiculous gooey cheese.


Okay, I'm a sucker for offal. You tell me there's sweetbreads, I'm gonna order me some sweetbreads. "Imagine it's like ribeye crossed with a scallop," I instructed Tavis as he prepared a forkful. He still didn't care for the texture. Oh well, more of this for me! The mustard sauce was a classic and very successful pairing, especially with the little sauteed cherry tomatoes for sweetness, and I love the perfect crisp on the outside of the sweetbreads. Might not order this one again though.




This was the only misstep of the entire night, and it was well-intentioned. I listened to myself ordering four meat dishes, and succumbed to the little voice of guilt which told me "Maybe you should get a vegetable too." Silly little voice! Velociraptors don't need spinach.

Plus this was spinach gratin, which means it was essentially swimming in the same bechamel/bread crumb mix that had made the mac n cheese so successful. Who needs green things when you can have mac n cheese? Oof. Sadly we tried to consume our mistake and silence the guilty little voice, and, well, shemomedjamo. Shemomedjamo shemomedjamo shemomedjamo. And a much-needed waddle back to our car before driving home.

Summary, or recap, or overview, or whatever word I used to have here: Feast is a darling little restaurant and I am definitely coming back. The servers were so much friendlier than the chic stylish decor would indicate; the prices were so much more reasonable than the sleek upscale menu would indicate; and everything was darn tasty. Darn tasty, I say. I have the overwhelming urge to try practically everything on this menu, and I rarely feel that way about a restaurant. If you haven't been here yet, please do yourself a favor and make the trip. But please don't feel the need to repeat my shemomedjamo.

Tuesday, 9/8/10 - Sandbar

Date: 9/8/10
Restaurant: Sandbar
Location: 200 E Grayson, in the complex of restaurants at the Pearl Brewery
Executive Chef: Andrew Weissman! One of the big chefs in San Antonio, owner/chef of Il Sogno and formerly of Le Reve, arguably the best restaurant in San Antonio (not that I managed to get my procrastinaty butt out there before it closed last November, wah)

Pearl Brewery is the source of much gnashing of teeth on my part. There's two parts to this. It is the site of the "other" culinary school in town, the San Antonio branch of the CIA. So whenever I say I'm going to culinary school, everyone says "Oh, at the Pearl Brewery?" Grr, argh. Nope I'm at the other one. The second part is this is the location of the Saturday Farmer's Market in town that I STILL have never frequented. These two things added up make me feel shamefaced, an imposter, a busboy in chef's clothes.

Or something. Whatever, I'll get over it.

The Pearl Brewery is also home to several intriguing restaurants that go (farewell, Texas Farm to Table--you were on my 52 but I didn't get to you in time) and come (hello, La Gloria, you bastion of Mexican street food!). Andrew Weissman, who as I mentioned above is one of the most well-known and respected chefs in the SA scene, has two restaurants here: Il Sogno and Sandbar. Tonight was Sandy.

Egads, seafood in San Antonio? Well if I'm getting it, this is where I'd want to get it. Let's take a tour, shall we?


Park in the public lot under the highway by Grayson, stroll past the Aveda Institute on your left and the CIA (grr) on the right, and after a bit of meandering you'll find Sandbar.


Very clean, crisp and cool interior. It's cold enough that I trust my fish in here. They open dinner service at 5:30; we got in about 10 minutes before that, which gave us just enough time to peruse the menu and make our selections. Hurray!

A note before continuing. As I was researching this restaurant prior to making the drive, I kept seeing the same two themes pop up in reviews: "Great food!" and "awful service!" Well, I sort of suspect that the staff had been alerted to these reviews and they'd had a meeting or two...we were greeted graciously and over the course of our meal no fewer than 5 servers and managers checked with us on how we were enjoying ourselves. Whoa baby! Way to take feedback, Sandbar!

On to the eats!


A bit of nostalgia preserved from Le Reve after it closed; this is Andrew Weissman's famous onion tart. It was startlingly tiny to someone who was expecting a personal pan pizza of oniony goodness, but the flavor and texture was absolutely divine. I could've packed away another 3 or 4 of them were they not $8 apiece.


Our second appetizer, one of their three ceviche options. I was itching for octopus because it just DOES it for me, but I opted for the more user-friendly fish so Tavis could enjoy some too. This was a combination of salmon, skate and something else that I forgot. It was a bit too limey for Tavis to really enjoy. With the contrast of avocado and bites of garlicky crostinis mixed in, I thought it was lovely. Very refreshing and excellent quality fish. To the side we also have smashed plantains fried and garnished with either kosher or sea salt. Deelish.


Before arriving, I was fretting about whether I would order the lobster bisque or the lobster roll. I couldn't justify getting both. Fortunately (well, sort of) the choice was taken out of my hands--they didn't have lobster bisque that day. So lobster roll it was!


Check out that gargantuan claw of meat. I loved this lobster roll. It was creamy, a bit zingy, great crunch with the slaw and very generous and sweet portion of lobstery goodness. In the background is a little potato salad that I wasn't wowed by.


Tavis played it a little too safe, ordering the fish and chips. The fish was good, the chips didn't do it for him. But it just wasn't the wow that he really wanted. Hopefully he'll choose better next time!


Time for dessert! This was today's special dessert, a mango souffle. How can you say no to that? Look at the height on this puffy ball of fluff! The mango flavor really came through but I didn't care much for the mouthfeel; it wasn't quite smooth enough for me. Tavis relished it enough for us both.


Oh my sweet delectable key lime pie. I love you so very much. I don't know how that piece got missing. Really. It certainly wasn't because somebody didn't have any impulse control before turning on the camera. Nope. Big mystery, never resolved, nothing to see here folks.

Returnability: Well, here's the thing. It was the best seafood we've had in San Antonio (with the possible exception of the fish and chips, but we can admit that's user error on our part)....but neither of us really jones for seafood. It's just not what gets us excited. So yeah we will probably come back here again, especially if we're with friends or family that enjoy lovely seafood at mostly-reasonable prices. But it just isn't where our heart is. Which is a pity. I will recommend it to all real seafood lovers out there, especially because of the apparent improvement in service. And if your key lime pie also arrives with a bite mysteriously missing, I won't say a word.

"Tuesday," 4/14/10 - Insignia

Date: 4/14/10
Restaurant: Insignia
Location: 401 Alamo, inside the Fairmount Hotel
Executive Chef: Jason Dady, star chef, founder and owner of the fabulous Tre Trattoria as well as Bin 555, Two Bros BBQ, and The Lodge at Castle Hills

What a happy draw. When just looking through the online menu makes me do one of many White Girl Dances that I have prepared for just such an occasion, you know it's gonna be a good meal. I am extremely pleased to say that Insignia, the newest Dady restaurant in town, completely lived up to my giddy-and-occasionally-spazzy happy food dance.

(As to why we went out on a Wednesday, well, we tried to go last night but they were booked solid for a corporate party. So I pouted, made fried rice for dinner, and reserved a table for Wednesday.)

Back downtown we go! The Fairmount Hotel is immediately past the entrance to La Villita and you score complimentary valet when you spend $25+ at Insignia, so the normal hassle of downtown parking is eliminated. Sweet!


A peek around the hotel, which is very lovely and upscale. I wanted to sit down at the piano and bust some Coldplay, it was so upscale.


The entrance.



We really enjoyed the decor. It felt fresh, modern, and open. Even when it got busy, we were able to hear each other at a comfortable volume and never felt claustrophobic. (Unfortunately, an integral part of the decor was the flatscreens mounted over the bar, playing the final pre-playoffs Spurs game of the season. So there may have been occasional distraction.)

Our waiter, who kept the pace just shy of European, came by with our menus and no daily specials. That was fine by me because the menu had exactly what I wanted!


I started with a Far East cocktail, which has a whole mess of ingredients, of which I could clearly only identify cucumber, mint and honey. Apparently there was also gin, allspice and saffron syrup. It was the most complex drink I've ever tasted. It really didn't pair with anything I ate unfortunately, but definitely worth getting one and passing it around the table. Assuming no one in your party's a dirty backwasher. You know who you are!


Appetizer #1: Bone marrow pudding, which is in the center. To the left is "tongue & cheek jam" which is essentially barbacoa, and to the right are yummy little toast points on which to spread the aforementioned two. Words can't express how gobbly good this was. I tasted the bone marrow pudding on its own and it really didn't have a flavor, just rich creamy buttery texture.


Every bite, I was practically drooling. It was so meaty and savory. Absolutely terrific.

Our second appetizer was "brinner," Breakfast For Dinner. It featured a slab of pork belly so tender you could shred it with a couple forks, plus a handful of silver dollar blueberry pancakes with a pineapple jam on top and a maple gastrique around the sides.

Before.


After. Well, during. "After" actually looks like an empty plate. I think Tavis preferred the bone marrow appetizer; my heart belongs forever to this one. Not only the perfect textural balance of crisp pancake and tender pork, but the flavors! Every flavor complemented every other flavor. The sweetness of the pork, the tanginess of the blueberries, the amazing concentration of maple flavor in the gastrique that never got too cloying, the fresh bite of the pineapple. It all worked together and made a flavor so great that when our waiter asked how it was, the most coherent thing I could manage was "This is freakin' win."

Yeah.


Tavis's "oh good golly I need a green thing sometime this year!" cry for help. Sadly, it wasn't a very tasty Caesar salad. Way salty and I found it overcheesed. *gasp* Who am I and what have I done with me?!


I passed on the entree, largely because I knew how much food we would already be consuming (see? I learn!) and largely because Jason Dady seems to love small plates of neat eats more than a heaping hunk of entree. In other words, none of the entree options seemed as interesting to me. So I had a bowl of their garlic bisque.

The spoon is in the picture to show you that this is a really shallow bowl of soup. I was initially amused and slightly offended by the meager offering. However, this soup was so rich and creamy and delightful that I don't know that I could have eaten any more than this portion. I would have preferred if it had been in a smaller vessel so my first impression wasn't one of stingy disappointment, however.

Back to the flavor! Warm, not bitter at all, just a lovely depth of flavor. In the center is some cold cream that tasted like it had been infused with more garlic; it had a much sharper bite to contrast. And on top are little fried garlic crunchies that were also fairly mellow, like good onion rings.

(Nice things about having dogs: they really don't mind when you come home and give them garlic bisque smoochies. I was definitely Team Werewolf after this dish.)


Tavis's entree, the signature filet mignon with shiner bock jus, asparagus, pearl onions, shiitake mushrooms and some little gnocchi-like fried grits (not a big fan). The steak was beautifully done and had a wonderful flavor.


Dessert #1: bacon pralines with a salted caramel mousse. I think I'm not the right person for pralines. I found it dense, far too rich to be enjoyable, and while there was a nice sweet-and-salty thing going on, I couldn't find any bacon flavor. I had a bite and passed, as did Tavis. However, when our waiter asked how it was and we shared "It wasn't to our taste," they immediately took it off our bill! So, um yeah!


Dessert #2: macadamia and coconut milkshake. This was exactly what I wanted. It was light, not too super sweet, with a deliciously subtle nutty flavor. (Too subtle for Tavis, sadly.) I enjoyed this a lot.


Tavis's beautiful cup of coffee.

Around the time we're wrapping up our meal, a chef comes to our table and asks how our meal was. He comments on my drink and says it's his favorite, I say something inane, he thanks us for coming and moves on.

Tavis: "....you know who that was, right?"
Me: *food coma* "What? Who?"
Tavis: "I read his nametag. That was Jason Dady."
Me: *food coma turns into hyperventilating* "ZOMG incoherence!"

I mean, that's like going to a concert and having Jerry Cantrell lean down into the crowd and say "Hey Mel, did you like that song? Cool." I was in the presence of San Antonio culinary royalty. It was probably just as well I didn't realize it or I likely would've destroyed whatever shot I have of working for him later by getting all squeaky and vapid. But wow. How nice.

Returnability: do ya need to ask? Between some of the best flavors we've had in San Antonio plus the all-around enjoyable pace, service, location, environment (and chance at "accidentally" running into the talented Chef Dady again), we will be back often. And I suggest you find your way here as well.

Tuesday, 1/19/10 - Mi Tierra

Date: 1/19/10
Restaurant: Mi Tierra
Location: 218 Produce Row, adjacent to the Riverwalk, La Villita, and pretty much everything of touristy interest in San Antonio
Hours: 24/7!
Executive Chef: That sweet old lady who smacks your hand with a wooden spoon when you try to sneak a sip of the ridiculously aromatic tortilla soup she's been making for centuries

Bienvenidos a San Antonio! Mi Tierra is a must-eat location for a sample of the true San Antonio experience, and I was elated to draw it. So elated that I forgot to take a picture of my draw, and then later lost the slip of paper, so you'll have to let your imagination fill in the blank here.

[insert imagination]
Thank you for your cooperation.

Venturing downtown wasn't painful this Tuesday either. Mi Tierra is right across the street from the Marketplace Parking Garage which was $6, fair for downtown parking.

Not pictured: the actual entrance. This was just a decoy. Bamboozled!


Depending on the day/time of the visit, the Marketplace could be filled with bustling activity, vendors, Peruvian pipe bands, quinceanera festivities and just generally a good time. It was deserted when we were there, but that was okay too.


You really should come here. It's pretty.

Mi Tierra is loud, shiny, colorful, an explosion of lights and fiesta decorations. It's really breathtaking. But...you don't have to take my word for it!



After admiring the decor and being seated, we perused the menu. We found lots of familiar Tex-mex options like enchiladas, fajitas, and nachos. My eye was drawn--of course!--to the more off-the-beaten-path items such as mole poblano, carnitas (pork tips cooked here in orange and spices, served as a main dish or in a taco plate), cabrito (young goat) and the uniquely San Antonio dishes named after former Spurs All-Stars David Robinson and George Gervin. Oh, decisions, decisions!

Well. A girl can only do so much on her own. I asked my waiter and took his recommendation. Behold the nommability that is cabrito.


Fall-off-the-bone tender, rich, juicy meat. In a former life I was surely a velociraptor. The sidies were great too; it came with a cheesy enchilada, bowl of guac salad, and tasty rice and beans. But the meat stole the show, as well it should. For anyone who hasn't tried goat, this would be a great place to break you in nice and gentle-like.


Tavis enjoyed his beef enchilada plate. I enjoyed him enjoying it. By this point, the second strawberry margarita had begun to kick in and I was one step away from joining in on a round of "De Colores" with the omnipresent mariachi.

A distended stomach couldn't possibly keep me away from the Mi Tierra bakery. The only reason I didn't take a picture of their ginormous display case was that it would lead to a stampede of all of you trying to get here in the next 30 seconds, and I didn't want anyone accidentally getting trampled. They had probably 75 different items, from coconut candies (snooze) to pralines (warmer) to the Mexican pan dulces of varying colors (warmer) to pastries filled with fruit and cream cheese (BINGO!). Tavis found a "regalo fresa" in his possession and I relived my happy month in Mexico with my standard treat, an empanada de pina.


Cuesto cuando?


Mmmmm pineapply goodness. Dense, not too sweet despite those gorgeous sugar crystals dusting the top. I ate these every day in Puebla and I could do it here too. Just dare me.

Anybody who finds themselves in San Antonio really ought to make a point of coming here. It's generally acknowledged that the best places are the hole-in-the-wall taquerias down the street from wherever you are, but this is a brick in the foundation of San Antonio culture. It's brash, it's friendly, it's colorful, and it's delicious. Returnability: yes please. (And save a spot in your tummy for dessert.)